


Dilemma

by wheel_pen



Series: Daisy [42]
Category: Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Naughtiness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-13
Updated: 2013-05-13
Packaged: 2017-12-11 18:25:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/801772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wheel_pen/pseuds/wheel_pen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Damon is in love with two different women. People don’t seem surprised by this. “Please, don’t try to tell me you actually thought this conversation through.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dilemma

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. Daisy, my original character, moved to Mystic Falls about a year ago. There is something special about her.
> 
> 2\. This series begins with the first season of the TV show and completely diverges about halfway through the first season. Facts revealed later on the show might not make it into this series.
> 
> 3\. Underage warning: This series may contain human or human-like teenagers, in high school, in sexual situations.
> 
> 4\. The bad words are censored. That’s just how I do things.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this AU. I own nothing and appreciate being able to play in this universe.

            Damon had a problem. And unfortunately, he couldn’t approach his usual group of confidantes about it, small and occasionally unwilling as that circle was. So he turned to a professional.

            “Jack and Coke,” he ordered—unnecessary, actually, as Bill had gotten out the bottle as soon as he saw Damon walk in. You just couldn’t get that kind of personalized service in a big-city bar, unless you were a total drunk who sat there all day. And Damon had a _few_ other places to be.

            When Bill set the drink down in front of him Damon pinned him with his gaze. “Let’s chat. I want some advice. But when we’re done you’ll forget everything we talked about.”

            “Okay,” Bill agreed mechanically. Then, in a more natural tone, “So what’s on your mind?”

            “I’m in love with two different women,” Damon began. No use beating around the bush.

            “That _is_ a dilemma,” Bill agreed sympathetically.

            “It used to be worse, used to be _three_ ,” Damon tossed off. “But then I saw that one was a total b---h, so she’s out of the running.”

            “That likely to happen with either of the others?” Bill asked hopefully.

            Damon hadn’t thought of that. But hey, that’s why he was here, for new insights. “It seems improbable, but these days you never know,” he hedged. “If it happens, it’ll be clear which one I should go with, so let’s pretend it’s not a factor,” he reasoned.

            “Okay,” Bill agreed. “Advantages and disadvantages of each?”

            Damon hadn’t realized how pragmatic Bill was. It was refreshing. “Well, discounting everything they have in common—beautiful, smart, strong, etc.—“ Bill nodded along. “One of them is _already_ my girlfriend, and one of them is someone else’s girlfriend.”

            “That’s a pretty big distinction,” Bill noted dryly.

            “Well, right.”

            “Is the one who’s _not_ your girlfriend happy in her current relationship?” Bill probed. “Is she with a good guy?”

            “Yes,” Damon conceded, a bit grudgingly. “But she could _also_ be happy with me,” he added, defensively.

            “Daisy’s a nice girl,” Bill observed, because it was silly to continue pretending he didn’t know who Damon was talking about. “Why would you want to trade her in?” His tone was genuinely curious.

            Damon had thought about this a lot and was prepared for that question. “I love Daisy,” he began easily. “She and I, we’re a lot alike. We think the same way about things.” This was a slight overgeneralization, but he felt it was accurate enough. “Daisy loves me just the way I am.”

            Bill gave a low whistle. “That’s a rare thing,” he noted appreciatively.

            “I know,” Damon agreed. “Believe me, I know. But El—“ He glanced at Bill’s expectant expression and decided to go on pretending. “But this other girl—she makes me want to be a _better_ person.”

            Bill nodded slowly. “I see your problem.”

            “Yeah.” Damon sighed heavily, rolling his now-empty glass between his hands. “So… what should I do?”

            “You’re definitely _in love_ with both of them?” Bill checked.

            “Definitely.”

            “Have you tried talking to the boyfriend yet?”

            Damon glanced up in surprise. “What? No. Why would I?”

            “Because he’s your brother, and that goes beyond women,” Bill told him sagely. “You should at least let him know how you feel. Stefan seems like a pretty level-headed guy.”

            Damon gawked at Bill. “You really think that would be a good idea?”

            “The _best_ idea would be to forget about Elena and thank your deity of choice that you have Daisy,” Bill replied bluntly. “But I figure you’re not gonna do _that_.”

            “That’s true,” Damon admitted. He gave this some thought. “Thanks, Bill. Forget everything we talked about.”

            Bill straightened up at the bar suddenly, blinking. “Another one?” he asked, indicating Damon’s empty glass.

            “No, thanks, I was just leaving,” Damon decided. He left a generous tip behind, figuring Bill had earned it.

 

            Stefan was sitting at the kitchen table, scribbling in a spiral-bound notebook while flipping through several thick books. “What are you doing?” Damon demanded of him, as though this activity were somehow morally suspect.

            “Working on my history essay,” Stefan answered, without looking up.

            Damon waited a beat. “Done yet?” he prompted obnoxiously.

            Stefan glanced up at him briefly. “Ric has asked that I cite more sources in my essays,” he replied dryly.

            “Did you tell him about the time you and Tintin fought Nazis on the moon?”

            “We’re only on World War I,” Stefan responded, without giving him much attention.

            It was a dangerous gambit, and this time it failed. Damon snatched the notebook out from under Stefan’s pen and hitched his hip up over the edge of the table. “I have to talk to you about something,” he began, and Stefan’s expression went from exasperation to alarm.

            “What have you done?” he asked his brother, glancing around to see if he’d dragged it home, like a cat showing off a dead mouse.

            “Nothing!” Damon protested indignantly. Then he thought again. “Well, that wasn’t what I wanted to talk about,” he added, conceding the point.

            Stefan sighed, deeply, and grabbed his notebook back, Damon having foolishly left it lying too close. “What?”

            “I’m in love with Elena.” The words tumbled out before he could stop them. “S—t. Hmm, I meant to work up to it more—“ But Stefan hadn’t looked up from his writing, and Damon began to wonder if he’d hallucinated saying it aloud.

            “And?” Stefan finally asked.

            “She’s pregnant with my lovechild and we’re going to run away together to Sicily.” At this, Stefan snorted, which showed he was at least listening, but not well enough for Damon’s taste. With a flick of his hand Damon shoved all the books off the table.

            The sight of Stefan wrapping a leash around the neck of his temper was always a pleasing one. “You’re in love with Elena,” he repeated clinically, when he’d gotten a hold of himself. “Have you talked to Daisy about this?”

            “I’m in love with Daisy, too, and what the h—l kind of question is that?” Damon demanded. Then he added hopefully, “Do you not care because you and Elena broke up?”

            Stefan rolled his eyes. “I _know_ you’re in love with Elena,” he stated. “I’m glad you care about her. I’m glad you care about someone other than yourself for a change.”

            Damon considered being hurt by that remark, then dismissed it. “But she’s your girlfriend.”

            “And you have a girlfriend yourself,” Stefan remarked. “What’s your point?”

            Damon narrowed his eyes dangerously. “Are you not taking me seriously?”

            Stefan sighed again. “I’m glad you love Elena,” he reiterated. “I’m glad she’ll have someone to look after her if… something happens, or I… do something… bad.” He trailed off with a troubled expression.

            “So you’re saying I can be Elena’s back-up boyfriend?” Damon checked. He was okay with this plan, he decided. “Are you planning on doing anything bad soon?”

            “No,” Stefan assured him, smirking just a little.

            Damon thought this over. “This is not how I imagined this conversation going,” he admitted.

            “Please, don’t try to tell me you actually thought this conversation through,” Stefan scoffed.

            “Good point. I don’t think I can let you be Daisy’s inflate-in-case-of-emergency boyfriend, though,” he warned.

            “That’s okay,” Stefan nodded. “I’m not in love with Daisy.”

            “Daisy doesn’t need a back-up boyfriend, she’s pretty indestructible,” Damon went on. “Delightfully so.” He began thinking about Daisy and the other things she did so delightfully.

            “Good,” Stefan replied, leaning over to pick up his spilled books. “Why don’t you go play with her for a while?” And leave him alone to do his homework.

            Remarkably, Damon stood up to go. “You don’t mind that I’m in love with Elena?” he asked one more time.

            “Did you _want_ me to mind?”

            “Kind of, yeah.”

            Stefan smirked. “Sorry.” Frowning slightly, Damon shrugged and headed for the door. Stefan’s smirk faltered. “Only—“ Damon froze at the doorway, then turned around. “If something _does_ happen, don’t be an a-s to her, okay?” he requested.

            Damon wasn’t sure how to respond to that. “Better make sure nothing happens, then,” he finally advised.

 

_POV switch_

            I was heading to my newspaper meeting after school when I heard Stefan call my name down the hall. Lifting a curious eyebrow I turned and waited for him to reach me at a slight jog—there were too many witnesses for him to use his vampire speed here. A few heads turned as he passed—he was classically handsome, still mysterious despite his presence on the football team, and possessed of an easy confidence that was rare among high schoolers. I would’ve advised him that this trait gave him away when he wished to blend in; but I felt I possessed the same flaw myself, and I didn’t plan to correct it.

            “Hi,” he greeted politely. “Do you have a minute?”

            I smiled and indicated yes. I didn’t know Stefan very well and wished I knew him better; but our main source of commonality, Damon, was also ironically a barrier between us. Stefan suspected, not unreasonably, that my loyalty lay with his brother, and thus he was wary of telling me anything he didn’t want Damon to know. It was wise for him to be cautious.

            I realized Stefan hadn’t yet started speaking. “Did you want to spend the minute in silent meditation?” I asked him, humorous without mocking.

            A mildly sheepish grin stole across his features but he didn’t let it faze him. “I was just wondering if Damon had talked to you about—“ He paused, and I realized it was deliberate; of course he couldn’t be more specific, because if Damon _hadn’t_ talked to me about it, the secret would be out, and there could be negative consequences. This narrowed the list of possible topics considerably.

            “About being in love with Elena? Yes,” I answered, cutting him some slack.

            He was mildly surprised by my untroubled response, and yet also not. Stefan was more perceptive than people realized and he knew there was something unusual about me; but he also wasn’t one to go looking for trouble. I could be as unusual as I wanted, as long as no one got hurt. “So, what do you think?”

            “Damon told me you weren’t upset about it,” I replied instead. “That you were glad someone else was looking out for Elena.” He nodded, waiting for me to answer fully. “I’m not upset, either. It’s his nature. He has a very loving heart.” Stefan stared at me with a careful lack of emotion, as if trying to decide if I were joking. I smiled. “Perhaps I should’ve said, a very _passionate_ heart,” I corrected, and Stefan relaxed as the world made sense again.

            “Yes, I would agree with that,” he told me dryly. “He was always like that, even when we were younger.” Meaning, pre-vampire.

            “He feels things deeply,” I elaborated. “Love, or hate, or both for the same person.” Stefan knew exactly what I meant by that. “I think there’s plenty of room for Elena, without taking any from me.”

            Stefan gave me a long look, assessing what little he knew of me. I had not done anything to raise his suspicions about my motives, except to be preternaturally understanding when it came to his brother’s dangerous and ill-advised adventures. Which may have been suspicious in itself.

            “You’re very open-minded,” he noted.

            In ancient Greek.

            I could hardly pretend I hadn’t understood and instead smiled. “It’s a terribly useful language, isn’t it,” I replied in kind, “when you’re interested in history.”

            He didn’t regret testing me but rather merely acknowledged that I had passed. I wasn’t sure what he’d really learned, though. “I’m glad you’re not upset,” he told me finally.

            “I think we’re _all_ very open-minded.”

            “I haven’t told Elena,” he countered.

            “It seems best to leave that up to you,” I replied carefully. This was not a promise. Stefan realized this and nodded, before letting me go on my way.


End file.
